No snow on the ground or falling right now. The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 28 Nov (the resort’s announcement; it moves with the snow). Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear once snow is on the ground or forecast.
A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 6 cm. The average for these dates is under 10 cm, so we do not give a percentage yet. The average is over twelve winters on the same weather model. Across Japan →
Two former resorts on either side of Mount Nekoma, Nekoma to the north and Alts Bandai to the south, are now joined by a connecting lift. The North Area faces north and looks at the back of Mount Bandai together with Lake Hibara. The South Area looks out on the front face of Mount Bandai and Lake Inawashiro. Sources: nekoma.co.jp, urabandai-inf.com (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.
The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urabandai Ski Resort | 3.1 km | 347 cmsame grid cell | 289 |
| Inawashiro Snow Paradise | 7.6 km | 258 cm | 673 |
| Grandeco Snow Resort | 12.0 km | 379 cm | 206 |
| Listel Ski Fantasia | 14.0 km | 246 cm | 761 |
| Tengendai Kogen | 17.0 km | 379 cm | 206 |
Compare side by side with Urabandai Ski Resort and Inawashiro Snow Paradise →
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
51% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east; plenty of the terrain faces the sun as well, so the lean is modest.
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
The most snow falls in January. March brings 54% of January’s snowfall. That is in line with the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 62 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 347 cm, and 7 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 235 cm; the biggest was 2024/25 with 454 cm (1.9 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
This ski area does not put a camera on its own slopes. The nearest live view is the road below.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Bandai and Inawashiro webcams & snow report — all 7 ski areas →
More than we show here.
1 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 55.1 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 磐梯中の湯 | 3.2 km | 55.1℃ hot | 3.6 mildly acidic | simple |
These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.
Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Oguni-numa Pond雄国沼 | Nature | 3.2 km |
| Mount Bandai磐梯山 | Mountain | 4.9 km |
| Lake Hibara桧原湖 | Nature | 4.9 km |
| Nisshinkan日新館 | Historic site | 11.5 km |
| Lake Inawashiro猪苗代湖 | Nature | 17.7 km |
| Aizuwakamatsu Castle若松城 | Historic site | 18.7 km |
Chosen from the places most read about on Wikipedia, favouring those with an English article. Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Checked on the official site (19 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
6 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 6 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 裏磐梯レイクリゾート 迎賓館 猫魔離宮(旧:裏磐梯猫魔ホテル) | ¥10,300 | 4.54／5 821 reviews | 3.1 km | JR猪苗代駅より車で約30分(無料送迎バス有)。猪苗代磐梯高原ICより車で約25分。 |
| 裏磐梯レイクリゾート 本館 五色の森(旧:裏磐梯猫魔ホテル) | ¥10,800 | 4.24／5 2120 reviews | 3.1 km | JR猪苗代駅より車で約30分(無料送迎バス有)。猪苗代磐梯高原ICより車で約25分。 |
| 裏磐梯高原ホテル | ¥30,000 | 4.80／5 196 reviews | 3.1 km | JR猪苗代駅下車/磐越自動車道 猪苗代磐梯高原ICより約25分 |
Prices are the lowest Rakuten Travel lists; a property name, or “Pick dates and guests” above, shows prices and rooms for your dates.
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese. · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
5 places within 12 km of the slopes, as mapped on OpenStreetMap, many of them small inns and pensions. Many are not on booking sites — open the name for the website or the map.
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗ · Rakuten Travelad ↗
“ad” marks links that pay us a commission if you book. Links without it are not affiliated.
Planning a trip · 28 Sep 2026
Japan for Beginners: Half Its Pisted Kilometres Are Graded Easy, Twice the US ShareHalf of Japan's pisted kilometres are graded easy or novice — against 25% in the United States and 28% in Canada. And 255 of Japan's 397 ski areas have a natural hot-spring source within 5 km. Here are the numbers, the caveat about grading, and the resorts where a first-timer gets the most of both.
Where the snow falls · 5 Sep 2026
Tengendai Kogen